On Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 5:31:42 PM UTC-5, wrote:
From yours and others' comments I conclude that in order to stay on the safe side I must give much consideration to flying conditions (no strong cross winds) and landing spots because of long landing roll. Since I am quite determined to refrain myself from any attempts of long distance xc flying in the first or two years (which I would want ta avoid in any type of glider, also 15m), or attempts of flying in strong cross wind, then I guess that with those two factors of danger ruled out (or at least reduced as much as possible) flying Nimbus should to be pretty harmless as you write.

best reg
Piotr

Hi Piotr,

I think I commented on this thread a couple of years back, but just to re-emphasize. If you are not completely comfortable flying and landing the glider in a wide range of conditions, then I think that itself answers your question about whether you are ready. As an instructor, I emphasize with every student that each flight could be an off-field landing. Not just tow emergencies, but mis-judging conditions, getting caught by a sudden weather change, etc. So, while you have the right attitude about wanting to be conservative in your initial cross-country approach, starting with the assumption that you will not land off-field is a bad idea.

Looking at the data from my club (a mid-sized club in the US), we have at least 2-3 off-airport landings each year NOT related to intentional XC flight. One example was a nice, summer day last year. The pilot flying his ASW-24 on a hot summer day was only 15 miles away at 2000M when a set of clouds suddenly turned into a thunderstorm with heavy rain. He ended up getting caught with the storm between him and the airport and had to make a very tricky off-airport landing only a mile away from the home airport. In another example, a pilot flying the "local ridge" ran into weakening conditions and made the conservative choice to land in a big field rather than to try a marginal glide to home.

There's a difference between price and value. Not everything that comes at a low price is a good value. At least think about that before you make the move.

Erik Mann (P3).